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God Always Intended to Provide for Our Needs – Part 2

In the first piece in this series, we discussed God’s immense providence for His creation from the very outset. From an orderly universe to being made in His image, God equipped us with every trait we would need to be like Him. Chief among those traits was the ability to and desire for love and companionship. Almost as soon as man was formed from the dust of the ground, God said it was “not good” for his creation to be alone. What exactly did God mean by that? Man needed a companion God had said “It is good” after each of the stages of His creation. Now, after creating a creature in His very image, he sees something missing. So He causes the man to go into a deep sleep and forms a “helper fit for him”...

God Always Intended to Provide for Our Needs – Part 1

Reading the creation narrative in Genesis always provides new insights into the nature of our existence. It’s always fascinating to me to examine the stark contrast between what God intended for His creation and what we ended up making for ourselves through our own stubbornness and rebellion. God wanted the best for us If we look closely at the first four chapters of the book of Genesis, we see a clear picture of a loving God who, from the very beginning, wanted only the best for His creation. His intention was to lavish upon us our every need. One of those needs, however, ironically destroyed our relationship with Him and necessitated the reconciliation brought about through Christ. God’s meticulous preparation for us The first two chapters of Genesis illustrate a God who undertook a meticulous process of...

From Despair to Hope: The Only Way to Defeat Alcoholism

Twenty eight years. That’s my magic number. That’s how many years I spent wandering in the wilderness. I was fourteen years old when I turned my back on God and started wandering. I was fourteen years old when I had my first experience with alcohol. That experience showed me how wonderful the buzz that came with alcohol was. That experience turned into an obsession, and that obsession turned into twenty eight years of dependence. (Wrong) Reason for Getting Out of Bed and The Vicious Cycle I lived for that buzz. It soon became my reason for getting out of bed every day. I would plan my days around when I would start drinking for the day. There were many blackouts. There were many mornings when I would wake up and wonder how I got home the night...

Here comes another new year! Have you got your New Year’s resolutions yet? How did you do last year’s? How long did you last? Me? I’m still working on last year’s one – eating healthier – and I fall off that wagon regularly, but I actually did better in the latter part of the year. Resolutions are tough. They are usually unrealistic goals that are difficult to achieve. We start out enthusiastically enough, but find it too grueling, too taxing, too demanding and it’s easier to quit than to keep going. Here’s a resolution that anyone can do and it’s easy to accomplish. Yes, it will take a little effort on your part, but anything worth achieving is worth working towards. 1. Become a Better Person: Start With a Good Look Inside Are you happy with who...

What does Christmas mean to you? Does it mean the giving of gifts, and the family gatherings, or the hanging of Christmas lights and ornaments on the tree? Is it the Christmas dinner that you spend countless hours in the kitchen working on? Or is it celebrating and being thankful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ? My childhood memories of Christmas are still vivid in my mind today. I can still smell the cinnamon and feel the warmth of the hot chocolate my momma always made me on Christmas mornings, and I still remember the anticipation that would build up while in bed on Christmas Eve waiting on Santa to come. These are feelings and memories I will never forget, but the fondest memory of all Christmas’s is the Christmas that I really grasped the...

It’s Not a Big Deal If You’re Not a Big Deal

Maybe you’ve noticed that our culture is obsessed with popularity and self-glorification. It’s almost as if it was saying to us something along these lines: “If you are not well known and popular, you are not really successful.” This spirit seems to have penetrated into our Christian world as well. We would not be honest with ourselves if we said that we wouldn’t wish to be as recognizable as Billy Graham, Max Lucado, Greg Laurie, Michael. W. Smith, Amy Grant or many other notable Christians of this present time. But the reality of life is that most of us will never become a household name in the Christian world as we know it today. Realizing this should not prevent us from zeal to help building His Kingdom. Because in heaven there will be no unsung heroes. Significant...

Can you tell the difference between joy and happiness? Let me give you a hint: One lasts forever but the other one is temporary. One stems from the holiness but the other one from pleasure. One fulfills but the other one makes you want more. I bet you guessed it by now: The joy lasts forever, fulfills us and comes from being holy. Happiness is only temporary. It is not a bad thing to be happy, but if we devote our life to seeking only for happiness, we will deprive ourselves form experiencing the true Joy that comes form personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Only He can make us holy. Therefore, our happiness will be a by-product of our holiness. Recently, I came across a blog posting with the title: The Lord’s Joy written by Jephun Joy....

I started yesterday’s post by saying that we are fearfully made. Our bodies are designed by God in an act of holiness and love. What a thought. Today I want to talk about how we are the Temple of God. Our bodies are His very own dwelling place if we have placed our faith in Jesus. Before Jesus came, the presence of God could be found in a physical, man-made Temple. God gave Moses instructions to build a tabernacle, one that could be lifted in order to be with the people as they traveled. This tabernacle was stunning. It was built from only the finest materials and adorned with the most beautiful decor. God required that His dwelling place be the finest that man could make. Once it was created, the Bible says that “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle”...

Have you ever been stuck in the mud? I was once. There was a pond near our house in upstate NY and I used to like to watch the frogs and other critters in the pond. One day when I was about 12, I ventured too close to the water after a rain. I had rubber boots on and I sank into the mud. I couldn’t get out. Not that I was sinking like quicksand, but every time I tried to lift my legs, the suction was too strong. I would manage to get my foot out of my boots, but then where would I stand. I can’t remember who came to rescue me, but the lesson was learned. Stay out of the mud. Have you ever been stuck in a snow drift with your car? Or...

Who are we as believers? Today’s Scripture, 1Corinthians 1:1-17, will briefly explore this question. “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother; To the church of Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ..” 1Corinthians 1:1-3 Most translation say we are “called to be saints,” with to be in italics. This indicates these words were added by the translators to make it read easier in english. Take them back out, here. In most cases when they add words it achieves its desired goal, but in this instance, and twin instances throughout...

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Latest Story

God Always Intended to Provide for Our Needs – Part 2

God Always Intended to Provide for Our Needs – Part 1

From Despair to Hope: The Only Way to Defeat Alcoholism

5 Life Changing New Year’s Resolutions

The Greatest Gift of All

It’s Not a Big Deal If You’re Not a Big Deal

Better Than Happiness

Wonderfully Indwelt

Stuck in the Mud

We Are Saints!

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